Bruce Arians explains why Antonio Brown hasn’t made big plays since joining Buccaneers

Antonio Brown was arguably the NFL’s top wide receiver over the past decade, placing second in the league in receptions, yards and touchdowns from 2010 to 2019 – despite missing most of the 2019 season due to ‘incidents off the field. Brown has played three games since signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the results likely haven’t lived up to his team’s expectations when they took him on board.

Brown has 18 catches for 157 yards and no touchdowns, averaging just 8.7 yards per catch. His receiving total has increased with each game, but Brown’s longest catch in 2020 has been 25 yards – the only catch over 20 yards he’s had this season. That’s a surprising development, as Brown has 164 receptions from at least 20 yards since 2010, the second-most in the NFL.

Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians doesn’t think Brown has lost a stage or isn’t being used properly with his new team. The problem is beyond Brown’s control.

“Well it was open. We had one of our fingertips [and] I’m used to seeing him take this capture. We missed it last week on a ball, so it’s just a matter of hitting it, ”Arians said on Tuesday. He does a great job of racing after the catch and in his role I think he does a really good job. It’s just when it goes deep, you don’t hit it. “

These issues last beyond Brown, having a large part to do with Tom Brady’s struggles with deep passes. According to statistics from the next generation of the NFLBrady is 0-for-19 on deep passes (over 20 aerial yards on the field) in his last four games, three of which are the games Brown has played. In the first seven games of the season, Brady was 14 for 39 (35.9%) on deep passes with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 101.2 passer rating. Brady is just 3 for 36 on deep passes since Week 5 of the season.

The struggles are well out of Brown’s hands – literally. All signs point to Brady, as the Arians believe he found his problems with the deep passes.

“Aside from the deep ball, I think he’s confused at times with coverage that might cause inaccurate balls,” Arians said. “I don’t see it at all in training. We don’t miss the deep ball at all in training – that’s for sure. It’s just a matter of Sunday hitting them.”